How Much Protein Do We Really Need To Eat?

Protein could be one of the most popular and controversial topics in all of nutrition. It's become the golden child of muscle building and fat loss. Wanna build big muscles? Eat your protein. Wanna lose fat and look like a fitness model? Eat your protein. After all, everyone knows you need to eat a minimum of 30 grams of protein every two to three hours.

Back in my earlier years, I drank my protein shakes and ate my protein bars. I would constantly keep my protein intake up around 250 grams per day. Why? Because I thought it scientifically PROVEN that more protein equaled more muscle.


But now I'm not so sure.


Let's take a look at one of the research studies that the super-high protein advocates always use to 'prove' that eating protein after a workout makes you build muscle.

If you were in this study, this is how your day would have gone...


You would show up at a research lab around 10 PM, and you would go to sleep (no eating). The researchers would wake you up around 6 AM and start poking and probing you (again no eating). After a bunch of weighing and measurements, you would start working out around 9 AM...you still haven't eaten yet.


This would be one of the toughest workouts you have ever done. Most likely you would do 10 sets of 8 reps on the leg press machine, followed by 8 sets of 8 reps on the leg extension machine. All of your reps would be done at 80% of your one rep max. Like I said, one brutal workout. It's about 10am now, still haven't eaten.

After your workout you would be given a drink that contains 3 to 6 grams of essential amino acids (the same amount of amino acids found in a glass of milk).

After that, the researchers would take measurements for the next 4 hours and measure your rate of 'protein synthesis'.


This is pretty much the standard protocol for these types of studies.


And guess what they found? An increase in protein synthesis over those four hours.
So what does this prove? It proves that if you haven't eaten since 10 PM the night before, do a brutal workout at 9 AM the next morning, and drink a glass of milk, you will increase your protein synthesis for four hours!

So much for needing 30 grams of protein, and so much for needing protein every couple hours.
You know what else? The only reason I say protein synthesis increases for 4 hours is because after 4 hours the researchers stopped measuring. Who knows how long you would have stayed in a muscle building state. Some researchers have estimated that a single workout can put you into 'muscle building mode' for as long as 48 hours after your workout!

Even more interesting is that researchers have found similar results when they made people drink the amino acids before their workout, and even when they made them wait and drink the amino acids a couple hours after their workout!

Here's another example, for you to consider.


In a research trial conducted on people who were over 50 years old and had chronic renal insufficiency (real bad kidneys) researchers explored the idea that resistance training could counteract the low protein diets that these people had to be on because of their medical condition.


On average these subject were eating under 0.3 grams of protein per pound of body weight. To put that into perspective, a 180 pound man would be eating about 50 grams of protein per day! For 12 weeks!


So what the researchers were thinking was 'since these people were on such low protein diets, for extended periods of time, muscle loss is definitely a risk. However, maybe if we made them weight train, we could prevent this from happening'.


Sounds like a good idea to me.


At the end of the study, the subject working out 3 times per week maintained there body weight, while the group that was not lifting weights lost about 7 pounds.


The group lifting weights also saw increases in muscle strength and muscle size. While the group not weight training lost some muscle and a little bit of strength.


This study is a great example of people actually gaining muscle size on a low protein diet as a result of resistance training.


Now, I realize the study was done on people who were over 50, and had a medical condition, but regardless, they gained muscle size.

This research shows that you can build a significant amount of muscle with relatively low protein intakes (the amount you get from your food in the average north american diet) as long as you are lifting weights.

Protein has a role in every one's nutrition plan, and it is an essential nutrient that is important for building and repairing muscles. From my understanding of the research I think it makes sense to try and consume a small amount of protein somewhere around the time you workout. I just don't think we need to be paying good money for tubs and tubs of the stuff, if the amount we get in our diets will serve our purposes just fine.

Scientists have not yet been able to determine if large amounts of protein have any extra effect on muscle gain. The massive amounts of protein that bodybuilders eat might work, but no scientists have been able to prove it so far.

Bottom line: if your goal is muscle building you most likely do not necessarily need to eat any extra protein. You can if you like, however I cannot find a good scientific reason to so far.

BP

One last note - Very little research is done on people who are on anabolic steroids. I cannot discount the idea that, in these individuals, extreme amounts of protein may help the muscle building process due to the fact that this process is enhanced by the use of steroids.

3 "Magic" Fat Loss Ingredients

Every morning I go through the exact same routine.

I get up. I make some oatmeal. Clean the kitchen. Go up stairs. Brush my teeth. Turn on my computer. Check my email. Then I laugh (or sometimes cry) while reading all of the new stories about the latest and greatest "fat loss" ingredients.

It is an absolute mystery to me why, after over 20 years of failed promises, we still turn to magic ingredients and magic foods for fat loss.

What shocks me even more is that we are still hoping to find something we can eat that will cause us to lose fat. It is almost becoming an oxymoron.

We are looking for something to consume that will make us consume less!

Here are just some examples of magic foods and ingredients in the new today:

Recent research (performed in a test tube) suggests that extract from Chilli peppers may stop fat growth. According to this research Chilli extract may hold the key to preventing immature fat cells from developing into mature fat cells.

In a different study, it was suggested that spearmint tea can not only lower a man's sex drive but can also decrease the amount of hair on a women's body. (Admittedly, this isn't fat loss research but if you think the body builders in your gym smell bad now, wait till they read this research and stop brushing their teeth for fear that they may be lowering their T levels!)

Finally, more research shows that dairy calcium (but not calcium supplements) can cause a decrease in the amount of fat in your blood after a meal.

I can't really tell you too much about this study because I stopped reading after the first page that mentioned that the study was funded by the Danish Dairy Research Foundation and the Dutch Dairy Association!

A Dairy Foundation and a Dairy Association funded the study, and the study found that dairy calcium, but not calcium supplements had weight loss benefits? Please.

Now honestly, there is some merit to this research. Eating more spices on your food is definitely a good idea. Eating foods that contain calcium is also a good idea.

However, thinking that taking chilli extract pills or consuming 3 bowls of ice-cream per day will make you lose weight IS NOT what you should be taking away from this research. (Nor is skipping your morning tooth brushing!)

If you want to lose weight there are only three things you need to do, and you don't need to read any research to do them.

Firstly, find a nutrition plan that works for you.

Secondly, get active. And I don't mean walk on the elliptical for half an hour every other day, I mean get a real work-out program and challenge yourself.

The third and last thing you need to do is to stop (or don't start) falling for the media's version of the latest and greatest fat loss research. It will only lead to disappointment and is usually a very poor and hyped up version of what the research was really telling us.

These are the real 3 "magic" fat loss ingredients!

BP

Eat Stop Eat

How to Shed Body Fat

This time last year I was almost half way through dieting for a bodybuilding contest.

That's right. As embarrassing as it is, I have been on stage, in a pair of glorified speedos, posing for a table full of judges.

You can call it a freak show, you can call it a bikini contest or you can call it pure vanity. I admit, I make fun of these competitions too.

I decided to compete last year to make sure that I could transform my body. After all, I'd be a hypocrite if I wrote in this blog about nutrition and weight loss if I've never actually taken my own body to the extremes of dieting.

And to be honest, it was one of the single best things I have ever done, because I recorded a journal of every single day of my diet.

And now whenever I feel like I need a little motivation and direction, I can simply look back at what worked for me.

I know I say this all the time, but it is worth repeating - A journal is your single best tool for getting in shape. It doesn't have to be super detailed, just a quick outline of how each day is going.

Here is an example of one of my pages...it's mostly chicken scratch that only I can understand..but it tells me exactly what I need to know.





Basically, the yellow highlighted stuff is my workout...and the rest is notes. From this one page I know that I didn't want to go any heavier on dead lifts, that my diet was going well, and that I tried step-ups, but preferred split squats for this particular workout.


It took me about two minutes every day to fill this out. I never did it in the gym..often I filled it in during a break at work, or when I got home that night. But it's proved to be extremely valuable for me.



A couple of months after the contest, I summarized some key notes about the whole experience.

• I had great results using intervals.
• I had great results using a whole body split.
• I had poor results using a bodybuilder type routine.
• I was able to maintain my strength during the whole diet.
• I was able to maintain my activity level during the whole diet.
• Cheat days are a waste. I found no benefit from them at all.
• 1,200 Calories was a little too low for me, but 1,500 to 1,800 worked perfectly.
• I lost almost no muscle during the entire diet.
• Avoiding simple sugars seemed to make a very big difference towards the end of my diet.

Great reminders for whenever I felt I needed to look back at what worked for me. This is why I view keeping a journal as your number one tool for weight loss.

Another great bonus was that during this time I had regular access to a BodPod..a great device for tracking body fat and lean mass changes that is very easy to use and very accurate.

Every Thursday I would take my measurements with the BodPod, and then chart my changes in a spread sheet.

This is the second most important tool for weight loss - measurements.

Now, you don't need a BodPod to track changes - a scale, measuring tape and a digital camera will do just fine. In fact, I used the pictures I took with my digital camera more than I used my Bodpod readings to track my changes.

If you photograph, weigh and measure yourself at the same time every week, this will give you a great way to look back and track any changes that were made.

Once you get in the habit of monitoring your progress by recording a journal and measuring your body, losing weight becomes much easier, because you are no longer guessing at what works and what doesn't work. You can simply look at your records.

BP

PS- for those of you who have been asking about the next installement of the Deconstructing Nutrition Series (Dr. F), it's still coming - I just have a few more articles to read through before it's completed.

Eat Stop Eat

Preserving Muscle Mass While Dieting

Back in early August, I wrote about the "secret" to preventing muscle loss while dieting (check it out here).

My point was this- based on the hundreds of measurements I made back when I had access to a body composition lab, I am convinced that if you are lifting weights while you are dieting, you will not lose any muscle.

After writing that post, I started thinking - I wonder if this is still true for VERY low calorie diets.

Turns out it is.

In a study conducted by J.W. Bryner and published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, subjects were put on an 800 Calorie per day diet and weight trained 3 times per week. At the end of the study, subjects lost body fat but did not lose ANY muscle mass.

This is really impressive information as the subjects were on an 800 Calorie per day diet for 12 WEEKS!

What's even more significant about this study is that the subjects were only eating 80 grams of protein a day for 12 weeks.

This study helps prove that it was the weight training and not the high protein diets that caused the preservation of muscle mass I talked about in my last post.

Based on this research, and my own research, I am certain that the best way to preserve your muscle mass, even when on an extremely low calorie diet is to weight train.

BP

Fasting Diet, Circuit Training

The "secret" to Preventing Muscle Loss While Dieting

I review a lot of fat loss programs. It's part of my job at www.grrlathlete.com. From the most underground e-books, to the latest best seller on Amazon, I’ve read through stacks of them.

Let me tell you, most of the time, once I’ve finished reading of these works of garbage, I feel like I need to take a shower.

They are just that sleazy.

Sure, they’re some of the greatest examples of marketing this side of beer commercials, but the actual information in them is a combination of basic good nutritional practices (you should eat more fruits and vegetables) and make-believe (never eat carbohydrates past 6:45 pm).

Most of the time the marketing story starts like this… “My special ‘melt the lard’ program guarantees you will lose fat fast without losing any muscle”.

The part I have a trouble with is the “without losing any muscle”. It seems losing muscle is something everyone is deathly afraid of doing. Most of the bodybuilders, athletes and fitness models I’ve talked with are convinced that they lose muscle when they are dieting.

Here’s the truth about losing muscle mass while dieting. I don’t believe it. Not at all.

I have taken over one hundred body fat measurements on amateur body builders and fitness models, none of them lost any more than 1 or 2 pounds of lean mass while dieting for a competition!

They drop anywhere from 20 to 50 pounds of fat, but lose almost no muscle! My measurements were taken with a BodPod, and validated with both skin fold calipers and limb circumference measurements, so I’m sure they were accurate.

All of these athletes were on different types of low calorie diets and loads of different supplements or no supplements at all; however, none of them were losing muscle.

This is for one reason and one reason only.

People who are weight training while dieting (within reason) will not lose muscle mass. I believe this is for one main reason. By lifting weights, you are telling your body you need that muscle. Your body recognizes that need, and thinks “Whoa. Looks like I’m dieting again. I need to burn something for some extra energy but if I get rid of some of this muscle, it’ll make this whole lifting weights thing even harder. I better keep this muscle and burn something else, maybe this fat over here…”

Straight up, the number one way to ensure you don’t lose any muscle while you are dieting is by lifting weights. Protein may play a role on in this (almost all of the people I was tracking were eating a high protein diet), but other than that, no fancy diet program works better than weight training for preventing you from losing muscle while you are dieting.

BP

Fasting Diet, Circuit Training